Puerto Peñasco, like much of the northwestern coast of Mexico still reeling from a decline in the fishing industry, is getting a makeover. The city, 60 miles south of Mexico's border with Arizona, is increasingly better known for its designer golf courses than for the 850 tons of shrimp it pulled into its harbors last year.

Ft. Lauderdale, FL (August 30, 2007): According to several recent industry surveys, high-end vacationers are increasingly finding the elegance, pleasure and privacy of a beachfront villa, hilltop castle, island cottage or other luxury vacation home preferable to the standardized amenities and pre-fabricated romance of traditional high-end resort hotels.

Rental cars and out-of-state plates are pulling up in front of homes all over Santa Fe as visitors arrive for the weekend’s Indian Market and other summer attractions.

Neighbors' complaints prompt new permit rules for landlords.  An ordinance in its nascence is sending a not-so-subtle reminder to Durango entrepreneurs who cash in on the city's lucrative vacation-home rental market: Tourism may be Durango's lifeblood, but people live here, too.